CONTACT US | EMAIL SIGN UP

For Immediate Release:                                                                                                                                 Contact: Peter Kauffmann
November 15, 2007                                                                                                                                       646-495-2707
                                                                                                                                                                      pkauffmann@gloverparkgroup.com

New York, NY – One of the nation’s foremost environmental organizations today announced an essay contest in which three $10,000 educational prizes will be awarded.  The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy – sponsor of a presidential candidate forum to be held later this week – is sponsoring a nationwide essay contest asking college students to draft a Renewable Energy Plan for America. 

“Our nation’s energy policy has implications well beyond the price of gasoline.  Our dependence on fossil fuels has an impact on the environment, the economy, even our national security,” said PFRE President Jane S. Hoffman.  “America’s next generation of leaders must be prepared to tackle the critical issues confronting our environment.  By engaging tomorrow’s leaders today, we can get a head start on empowering a sustainable future.”   

The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy is sponsoring a student essay contest in which three college students will be named and awarded a $10,000 educational prize.  The contest will be open to enrolled university students (additional information is below).  The deadline for entry is February 1, 2008 and winners will be announced in April 2008 at an Earth Day event.  Students are asked to write a 4 to 6 point renewable energy plan for America, laying out a strategy for the next five to ten years that will minimize our current dependence on non-renewable energy sources.  To submit an essay, or for more information, log on to www.2008energyforum.org.    

The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy is co-sponsoring a presidential candidate forum on the afternoon of Saturday, November 17 at the Wadsworth Theater in Los Angeles – Global Warming & America’s Energy Future: A Presidential Forum.  The PFRE joined forces with leading environmental organizations to hold a single joint forum on global warming and renewable energy.  Partner organizations co-sponsoring the event include the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, NRDC Action Fund, the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.  Candidates attending the forum include Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator John Edwards, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich. 

Jane S. Hoffman is the chair of The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy, an organization she founded in January of 2007 to bring increased attention to issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and conservation.  Hoffman’s book on renewable energy, Green, is slated to be published by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Hotzbrinck in April 2008.  Hoffman is a former New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner and a former candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York.

Although Americans make up only five percent of the world’s population, we consume twenty-five percent of its energy production.  Our dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as oil has a profound and long-term impact on our environment and our quality of life, and even on our economic stability and national security. 

Developing renewable energy sources, then, is an urgent national priority.  Renewable energy is any resource that naturally replenishes itself in a relatively short period of time such as hydropower, solar energy, and wind energy.

As the 2008 presidential election approaches, this contest gives you a voice in this critical problem.  We invite you to submit a 4 to 6 point renewable energy plan for America.  Your plan should lay out strategies for the next five to ten years and beyond that will minimize our current dependence on non-renewable energy sources.

Assume your goal is to convince an audience of politicians, the United States public, and scientists that your plan is the optimal solution to a pressing problem.  Your plan must be practical, so you should address the technical, economic, and political challenges your proposal will face.  A persuasive argument will sketch the dimensions of the problem, weigh the costs and benefits of its proposal versus that of potential alternatives and offer clear reasoning and hard evidence. 

Contest Details

Eligibility:

The contest is open to students who, as of January 1, 2008, are between the ages of 18 and 24; enrolled, full-time or part-time, in an undergraduate college program; and a citizen of the United States of America.

Prize: An educational prize of $10,000 will be paid to each of the three students who submit a winning essay. The prizes will be paid to the students, in a lump sum, on or after May 1, 2008. Individual winners will be responsible for all tax liabilities.

Announcement of Winners: The three students whose essays have been selected as winners will be contacted directly by the Presidential Forum on Renewal Energy in April, 2008, to coincide with Earth Day.  The official announcement of the winners will be made only after each student’s eligibility has been confirmed.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2008 

The Selection Criteria:

Submissions will be evaluated on their originality, on their political, economic, and technical feasibility, and on their long-term viability.  We will evaluate plans on the soundness and originality of your thinking, but we will also consider the ability to present those ideas in a concise, persuasive, and compelling manner.

Rules:

* All submissions should be 4 – 6 pages and may not exceed 2,500 words.
* All participants are permitted to submit only one essay.  
* Group submissions are not allowed.
* Charts, graphs and images are not permitted.  
* All references must be cited according to MLA style.
* All submissions must be pasted into the form hosted on www.2008energyforum.org, including title and abstract. 
* Participants are required to verify that they are: enrolled in a full or part time college program; a United States citizen: and submitting an original and properly cited essay.
* Works found to be plagiarized will be disqualified and any prizes awarded withdrawn. The student who submitted the work may be liable for resulting legal and financial consequences.
* Essays will be evaluated on originality, political and technical feasibility, and long term implications. While the essay contest is about ideas, your ability to present those ideas in a concise and effective manner will also be considered.
* The decision of the judges is final.

###